We have just returned from 10 days in Cuba with the first two nights at the Sevilla. This was our 4th trip to Cuba - 3rd time in Havana. We found most comments on this site (both positive and negative) to be true. The Sevilla is getting quite run down. My husband and I had a regular room (with one king size bed) which was very small and dark, while my daughter and mother-in-law had a corner room (2 double beds) that was huge with double opening windows. Front desk desk staff were very friendly and helpful, which was a pleasant surprise as we have found that not usually to be the case in Cuba. The hotel itself was very noisy at night and due to its layout we found the exhaust fumes from the street funnelled right into the hotel. Pool was lovely, the buffet breakfast was very adequate and the location is very convenient. We booked this hotel at a very good price so we can't complain - if you pay regular rates you will likely do better elsewhere for the same money.

The hotel was not one bit as I had imagined. The room was fusty and the outlook from the window was a wall with a pipe through it. The room was clean but in need of decoration and a lick of paint. The shower did not work properly, we stayed for three nights and on one night had no hot water. The staff are unfriendly and do not understand English, the security is spot on we were looking around for the famous when we saw the amount of black suited walkie talkie 6 footers on all exits. There is a plus point I lost my postcards in the hotel and some kind person posted them for me. Watch out for the prices in the rooftop restaurant pricey but exquisite and a must.

Stayed for about 2 weeks (with interruptions) in May 2004.
We loved the moorish architecture and the hotel's ties to history (it was the old Biltmore Hotel, popular with stars and gangsters in the earlier part of the 20th century). The complimentary breakfast, music-filled courtyard and friendly staff made this place a wonderful base-point for us. We look forward to staying there again. We brought our 2 year old with us and she was in heaven--the staff was wonderful with her, learning her name by the 2nd day and frequently stopping to play with her. And she conquered her fear of the water in the lovely pool (though it does feel rather tragic to be swimming underneath the cramed and impoverished apartments of Old Havana). She also danced every night to the bands that regularly play in the hotel's little courtyard...on occassion they'd pass her an instrument so she could play along with them.

If you go:
-Ask for a corner room, as they tend to be lighter, airier and larger. Some even have balconies. The regular rooms can be small (though nicely appointed).
-Have one dinner in the top-floor restaurant. While the food is so-so, the views are spectacular, especially at dusk. Both times we ate there, though, there were more musicians than customers! Still the room is spectacular, with a terrific view of the capital on one side and the ocean on the other.

Note:
Later in our trip, we stayed for one night at the Hotel Nasional and decided that we preferred the Hotel Sevilla. While the rooms may be bigger at the Hotel Nasional, it has a stuffier out-of-date feel and seemed horribly over-priced. Not that the Sofitel Seville is cheap by Cuban standards...but it is certainly lovely.

We stayed at Sevilla in December 2004. The hotel is really nice and is quite well kept. Anyway, just a few remarks: the swimming pool and sauna were out of service, and we were only informed when we arrived at the hotel, since the hotel didn't inform our travel agent. Our room was spacious, comfortable and clean. The lobby is quite nice, although quite windy, which turns to be uncomfortable specially at night. At the Sevilla we experienced the most surrealist breakfast we ever had: the breakfast room is in fact quite small considering the number of people present (the hotel was at its full capacity) and it becomes worse when because the hotel does not have enough tableware and (sometimes) enough food! We were standing for more then 10 minutes waiting for bread and butter or ... simply for a cup!! I believe these things cannot happen in an international hotel chain like Sofitel. By the way, we didn't find hotel staff to be as kind as we read in some of the reviews. Maybe because we were in Havana after spending one fantastic week at Sol Cayo Largo (Group Melia), where we found really nice and professional employees! Next time we'll stay at NH Parque Central.